Cook and Scale

Xinxim de Galinha

4 servings · 80 min total

A Bahian braise of chicken thighs in a thick sauce of ground peanuts, cashews and dried shrimp, loosened with coconut milk and finished with fragrant dende oil.

Ingredients

800 g chicken thigh, boneless and cut into large chunks
3 tbsp lime juice
4 garlic, crushed
20 g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
4 tbsp dried shrimp
80 g peanuts, unsalted and skinned
80 g cashews, unsalted
2 onion, roughly chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 dl coconut milk
2½ dl chicken stock
3 tbsp dende oil
300 g white rice, cooked to serve
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Contains: Tree nuts, Peanut, Crustaceans, Celery

Allergen info is best-effort — please verify yourself.

Method

1.
Marinate the chicken — Toss the chunks of chicken thigh in a bowl with the lime juice, crushed garlic, grated ginger, salt and black pepper. Leave them at room temperature while you build the sauce base.
2.
Soak the dried shrimp — Cover the dried shrimp with warm water and leave them to soften for 20 minutes, until they are pliable and no longer brittle, then drain them well.
3.
Blend the nut paste — Toast the peanuts and cashews in a dry heavy casserole over medium heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty and colour lightly, about 4 minutes. Tip them into a blender with the drained shrimp and half the onion, add a splash of water and blend to a coarse, sandy paste.
4.
Brown the chicken and base — Return the casserole to medium-high heat with the vegetable oil and brown the chicken in two batches until deep gold on all sides, about 8 minutes in all; lift it out. Lower the heat, soften the remaining onion for 6 minutes, then stir in the nut and shrimp paste and fry for 3 minutes, until it darkens and begins to catch on the base.
5.
Simmer in coconut milk — Return the chicken with any juices, pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock and simmer uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6.
Finish with dende oil — Stir the dende oil through off the heat — it should stain the sauce a deep amber — and check the salt. Rest for 5 minutes, scatter over the cilantro and serve with the white rice.